Talk:UK Spots (The Muppet Show)
UK Spots or Two Minute Spots? How did these spots come to be referred to as "UK Spots"? Is that a term given to them by us Muppet fans? I'm wondering, because while I've always read them as being referred to as "UK Spots" or "UK Skits", I recently discovered evidence to suggest that among the Muppet-gang these may have in fact been known as the "Two Minute Spots". Emma 12:56, 1 November 2008 (UTC) :Now that you mention it, I've wondered about that too. Also, was the US the only country these bits weren't shown in, because of time? Or were they shown in other countries, too? -- Ken (talk) 02:03, 2 November 2008 (UTC) ::They were called "UK Spots" in the Season 1 DVD Muppet Morsels, however I don't know if that term was something coined (possibly by the fans) in the years following the Muppet Show. I wonder what the bits were called at the time of production. Did the scripts note them as something special? I always wondered where the term came from (as I think they did are in other countries outside of the UK that didn't have the same kind of time constraints of the US). -- Brad D. (talk) 02:15, 2 November 2008 (UTC) :::I recall that at one time Henson.com included video clips from these spots every week, and I think they were referred to as "U.K. Spots". We'll have to check that site via Internet Wayback Machine, though. --Minor muppetz 03:12, 2 November 2008 (UTC) ::::I remember Henson.com posted them years ago but I don't recall what they called them at that time. But I think it would be interesting to know what the segments were called during the actual production of the Muppet Show. All the sources for the name "UK Spots" that we've come up with have been from the Internet era of the past 10 years. -- Brad D. (talk) 03:17, 2 November 2008 (UTC) ::::: Well I thought I'd share with you what prompted me to ask the question in the first place. Last Thursday (30 October 2008), I went to a late night charity show at The Fortune Theatre in London. A trusted source (whom I shall identify here as) LG was one of the participants in the show, and afterwards I was hanging round the stage door and got to speak to LG, and happened to say something about the TMS DVD Box sets. I mentioned that the boxed sets "include the UK skits”. At this LG has a look of bewilderment in her eyes, as though she’s very interested, but not quite sure what I mean. So I explain “The skits that weren’t included in the original US broadcasts” “Oh the two minute slots” exclaims LG. Hence why I've posted the discussion here. :::::Now I'm wondering, a few years ago I recall quite a number of original TMS scripts were for sale on Ebay, perhaps it might be worth any of the Muppet-Wiki regulars who got hold of these, seeing if there are any clues here? Emma 11:43, 2 November 2008 (UTC) :::::: Well since so far no one else seems to have done this. I went and dug out the two scripts I bought on Ebay a few years ago (when quite a few scripts were on Ebay). And it makes very interesting reading. The two scripts I have are for "The Muppet Show No 28", and "The Muppet Show No 32". Now in 'The Muppet Show No 28', the relevant skit is the song 'The Boy I Love Is Up In The Gallery'. On the particular page in the script the slot is not given a title other than that of the song. However, at the end of the preceding page are the words "(INTO: 2 Minute Spot)". By contrast on 'The Muppet Show 32',. where the spot in question is Kermit and Gonzo talking about Gonzo's new act, at the head of that page is the title "UK Spot", whereas the foot of the preceding page just says "(INTO Gonzo)". Now I know this is just two scripts. But from the evidence of these two, I would suggest that in the days of TMS itself, it would appear that BOTH terms were used, perhaps somewhat interchangeably, but that in more recent times the phrase "UK Spot" has stuck. Emma 22:06, 13 March 2009 (UTC) :That's really interesting, Emma! Personally, I never liked the term "UK Spots," simply because they were a natural part of Die Muppet Show as well; and I'd almost bet that they were part of all of the other international versions, too. Making them, if anything, "Non-US Spots." :Yet, I understand that even though The Muppet Show was produced in the UK, the Muppets as a franchise are US-"born and based," which again is justification enough to maintain this Wiki from an entirely US-centric point of view. :Also, the skits often do focus on a UK theme. If more original scripts surface though, or if folks are able to contact more people who worked on the show back when, it'll be interesting to find out which terminology was more dominant during production, or if/when/how it changed. And if so, maybe we could at least comment on this issue on the page itself!? — Julian (talk) 13:06, April 29, 2010 (UTC) ::Emma, do you have actual scripts, not photocopies, that were used 30 years ago on the set of The Muppet Show? Or is it one of those script/transcript hybrids that were popular on eBay in years passed? —Scott (talk) 18:16, May 6, 2010 (UTC) :::The Muppet Morsels written by Jerry Juhl and Dave Goelz refer to them as UK Spots. —Scott (talk) 21:25, May 18, 2010 (UTC) Should I Delete These? I had put info in the article that mentioned ways that U.S. fans could see the sketches. When I did that, I mentioned that many of the songs were included on the albums The Muppet Show Music Hall and The Muppet Music Album. However, I am starting to question this, because those albums were only released in the U.K. The only ways that American fans would be able to own copies are if an American fan visited one of the countries that those albums were released in and bought copies, or if some American fans bought used copies over the internet. Should this info be edited from the article? --Minor muppetz 19:32, 7 September 2006 (UTC) :I'd say to leave them (although I think the music hall album only has like 4 songs on it), because with the internet, it's perfectly plausible that anybody who wants can locate a copy, and somebody might want to know. -- Wendy (talk) 19:39, 7 September 2006 (UTC) :: I'm in the UK, but the only way I got The Muppet Show Music Album was from an ebay seller in Australia! - a surprising amount of records and videos (all official stuff) seems to find its way into Oz and NZ. Emma 15:27, 8 September 2006 (UTC) Are these on the season-wide DVDs? -- Zanimum 17:41, 24 March 2006 (UTC) :All the UK Spots were released on last year's The Muppet Show: Season One DVDs. -- Pantalones 17:54, 24 March 2006 (UTC) I believe some of these were also shown in Canada because I remember seeing them The Muppet Show originally aired here.